


presents for Danny

by luna65



Category: Greta Van Fleet (Band)
Genre: Birthday, Ficlet Collection, M/M, Sam & Danny: relationship goals, witch!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22012267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna65/pseuds/luna65
Summary: A selection of ficlets celebrating our Good Boy beastie, with love.  He's 21, folks!
Relationships: Sam Kiszka/Danny Wagner
Comments: 14
Kudos: 11





	1. Save the Date

**Author's Note:**

> This first one is inspired by the fact that Danny was born two days _before_ NYE and Sam was born two days _after_ April Fool’s.

“Do you know what a hassle it is that you were born so close to New Year’s?!”

Danny is shocked by Sam’s protestation, as it comes out of seemingly nowhere during a long ride between tour stops. They are alone in the back lounge of the bus, the other half of their band both sacked out in their bunks.

“Like it’s _my_ fault somehow?”

“It _could_ be, y’know.”

“It’s totally better I wasn’t born on Christmas. You know what’s weird, though?”

Sam regards him with an inquisitive yet also mischievous expression. “Your face?”

“Shaddup! Our moms were pregnant at the same time, basically. Like, I bet they even saw each other sometimes around town and stuff. So we actually met before we were even born.”

“You don’t know that!”

Danny slid over to his bestie, a slight smile tracing his lips. “Okay but, don’t you wanna _believe_ it?”

Sam’s teasing is abandoned and he leans against the one who’s always been meant for him.

“Three months and change is a long time, developmentally-speaking.”

Danny grinned, so wide that Sam instantly knew he had set himself up for the kill.

“I know, right? I have to keep reminding myself of that every day.”

“You are such a dork!” Sam declares, laughing and elbowing the other.

“Oh, and **you** wanna talk about being born on the wrong day, April Fool?”

“If you don’t stop I swear I’m gonna make you play the show wearing a diaper!”

Danny struck a heroic pose, flexing his arms. “I’m totally ready.”

“Yeah and nobody but **me** is gonna see _that_ much skin, got it?”

“Oh yeah? You promise?”

“You will **never** forget turning 21, I _promise_.”

Danny made certain to seal it with a kiss.


	2. Fated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the idea of the witch!AU has been going around for a while; I did write the boys as magical creatures previously, so this is just another pass at it for the Good Boy, in rather flowery language.

Yule had been a festive cozy occasion as always, Danny reflected. He was meditating in his garden, even as the day was cold and the ground hard, he considered the wish he had made during the Solstice celebration...longing for a brown-eyed boy of his own. He focused on his breathing, focused on the face he dreamed of every night, not knowing how he knew that he knew. Wondered when they would find each other and finally recognize themselves as fated.

_And what if it’s not meant to be?_

Oh, but it **had** to be. The skyclad ritual beneath the moon, the sparks he had felt to behold the glimpse of a face, as his coven joined hands and chanted _grant me my desire_ one and all...that was the vision he’d been given. For thy Will is granted in the form of what is needed.

And another cycle had come and gone, as he turned his face up to the One who embodies imagination and longing and asked, “Where is he? Do I know him already?”

Every face he beheld, he used his intuition to look within, and yet did not see.

He followed his path, crafting charms and tinctures and participating in drum circles as his practice dictated, now wondering if he should cleanse himself of something which may have been a shadow rather than true sight.

He envisioned himself sinking into the earth, asking Gaia, _am I a fool?_

The wind danced around him, tossing his long thick raven hair. His eyes the color of a secret wilderness flickered open to watch dead leaves whirling.

 _Patience_ , he reminded himself. Forget your desire and when next you turn, it will fall from the sky.

**********

Danny walked along the riverbank, lost in thought, though his purpose was looking for smooth stones for his charms. This particular river possessed beautiful pebbles if one was willing to brave the cold water. He wore his father’s hipwaders (not having the heart to tell him that he really wasn’t that interested in fly-fishing) and a shortie wetsuit. Carrying a bucket and a screen, he began sifting the contents of the riverbed for the small round pebbles he desired, which were like pearls. He allowed his mind to drift as it may, as if it followed the water downstream, perhaps all the way to the sea. For the birds to chatter and the crickets to chirp.

He watched himself shake the screen as if from a distance, and sought to soothe the ache he still felt.

_Shaking off the sadness, letting it fall away like so much dirt. The important things remain, wash them clean, use their gifts of clarity to continue the journey to your higher self._

But his intuition pulsed in a beat attuned to his internal rhythms.

_Something’s coming..._

Eyes on him, from somewhere in the woods beyond. He stood perfectly still, casting his sight outward. Something hiding from him, something that knew how to hide. _Someone._ But not threatening.

“Earth Mother, Triple Goddess, I am trying to be patient,” he muttered as he continued his labors. “But you don’t make it easy on a frater.”

Laughter hummed low in his ears, but it could have been anyone’s.

**********

His name, his true name, could only exist in the mouths of the fraters and sorors of his sect. And yet here, upon the day most holy in his faith, when each star is realized upon the earth within the vessel of its’ choosing came the one who called him down.

“Lapis Du, I hear tell you make a very effective lodestone charm.”

_Blink blink blink - no, it couldn’t be._

The crescent moon pendant worn by this brown-eyed boy winked at him in the candlelight.

_The divine spark itself._

“Who are you searching for?”

“I found him, but verification is always helpful.”

“How is it you know my name in the Inner?”

“How is it you know who **I** am? I can tell you do.”

Danny looked over his wares and found a lodestone charm, with two male stones at the bottom of a small bottle filled with Van Van oil. “This should point the way.”

The other reached out a long-fingered hand and placed it on his heart. Danny felt his pulse jump like that first step of the Holy Fool off the cliff, looking not down but outwards to possibility.

_Something’s here..._

He placed the charm around the beautiful man’s neck and smiled.

“I finally have something to celebrate,” he proclaimed. And the smile he was given in return was like bells and whistles and joyous applause.


	3. They say it's your birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is also set in the Here and Now, and presupposes that Sam and Danny’s relationship, while still on the downlow, has been going on for a while.

They couldn’t get drunk _yet_ , but they were all teetering a bit close to the edge of intoxication even so. An entire case of champagne had been one of Jason’s presents for Danny’s 21st. The backstage area was crammed with family and friends, cake and presents, finger food, and an open bar.

“Wow, this is -” was all the birthday boy could say to the enormity of affection which greeted him as soon as he walked in the room, Sam following behind wearing a shit-eating grin.

“It’s your birthday, my good man!” Josh declared with his theatrical English accent, raising a glass on high. The traditional song was followed by a raucous rendition of “For He’s A Jolly-Good Fellow” by his three bandmates,with Sam holding that one note far longer than he should have. Everyone cracked up, and there was much hugging and kissing and back-slapping, bro hugs, side hugs, handshakes - Danny was a little overwhelmed. It had been this way for years now, they had played gigs on his birthday and there was usually a somewhat wild celebration to follow - everyone in attendance already loosened by holiday indulgence.

“Not a bad place for a party, huh?” Sam asked, looking around once he had made it through the initial press of the crowd. “Full house, gotta love that.”

“Yeah,” Danny replied, sipping a beer and wondering how embarrassed he would get when it was time for the crowd to serenade him. Being the one in the back, he had learned to channel his nervous energy into his labors, but then to be aware he was being _watched_ , that made an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies invade his stomach.

“Well you’re _finally_ legal,” Ryan declared, bringing over a plate of food to his charges. “Never thought I’d see the day!”

They both laughed. “Yeah, it’s not going to be as interesting finding things we shouldn’t be doing now,” Sam cracked.

“Sammy, I have every faith that you will continue to be a force for mischief.”

Sam nodded with a smirk. “Absolutely.”

“And you’ve still got, like, three months to make sure I’m going to Hell,” Danny added.

They cracked up, knowing that whatever they had done it hadn’t been too heinous, just enough to make them feel like they’d been scandalous in a way known only to them.

“Dang, these crab thingies are **good**!” Danny exclaimed around a mouthful of hors d’oeuvre.

“We spared no expense!” Ryan teased. “You only turn 21 once.”

“Well for us it’s more like it happens _twice_ ,” Sam observed.

Their assistant laughed and nodded. “Yepper, SammyandDanny, the two-headed rhythm monster machine.”

“Damn straight!” they shouted back and everybody drank to that.

Stage call was about 20 minutes away when Sam had grabbed Danny by the elbow, gently steering him away from whatever conversation he had been engrossed in, mainly all the shenanigans of his cousins who were in college while he was off traveling the world and being a rock star. But to their credit no one seemed particularly perturbed that it wasn’t them. His extended family understood the depths of his commitment and wouldn’t have expected anything less than for Greta to receive worldwide recognition.

“C’mon, I want you to myself for, like, five minutes.”

Danny smiled back but made his face neutral-friendly for the benefit of a roomful of people who had no idea of the complexities of their relationship.

Jake had abandoned the tuning room and Sam pulled Danny inside, locking the door behind them. He took a deep breath.

“Phew! Feels like Christmas all over again.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what I get for being born this week, right?” His tone contained a bit of a taunt in acknowledgment of Sam’s running joke that Danny had been born during the holidays on purpose.

“So high-maintenance,” Sam chided with a smile. They stood there for a moment, listening to the buzz and roar of everything and everyone on the other side of the door.

“So much has happened,” Sam murmured. “We’ve done _so much_.”

“I know, right?” Danny replied. “It feels weird.”

“But good too. You know, the rest of the night belongs to everybody else. I mean, it’s _your_ birthday, but it’s about everybody having a good time at this party, right? And the show. It’s always been like that. Right now, though, it’s about **you**.”

Danny smiled, a flush creeping up his neck to stain his cheeks. “Sammy, you know you don’t have to give me anything. It’s never been about that, even when we were kids. All I wanted was to be your friend. I mean, it’s _still_ about that, even now.”

“Remember when I came over to your house and we played Beatles songs? I went home and told Mom, ‘I think that dude’s gonna be my best friend,’ and she said, ‘He seems like a good guy, Sammy.’ And my mom is pretty much never wrong.”

Danny laughed softly, pulling Sam close, kissing him gently. “I had to, like, make a case for you, but I kept telling her how smart you were and you’d probably make sure I didn’t flunk math or anything.”

“Lori is _always_ gonna give me the side-eye, dude. It’s okay, I get it.”

They heard their names being yelled in the hallway.

“Duty calls, old chap,” Sam declared.

“Let’s rock their faces off, old bean,” Danny replied, and they returned to the world of light and sound and massive love.

The union stagehands were insisting _everyone_ had to leave, it was past two, and Danny stood on the stage, now bare of all equipment, the hall itself empty save the cleaning crew. Load-out was completed, and most of the revelers had moved on to the hotel everyone was staying at to continue the celebration. But it was like he could still hear the music, and the crowd, all that noisy affirmation rising to greet them as they walked out to welcome their people. It had been _deafening_.

_We have **people** now, that’s so fucking wild._

He heard Sam treading the boards, as the old saying goes, bare feet rhythmically meeting the wood beneath them.

“Daniel, look what I found!”

He had a bowl in his hands and Danny looked over to examine the contents. Dark berries, so deeply purple they looked almost black. _Hence the name, I guess_ , he thought.

“Wow, they’re out of season, right?”

“Here, yeah. So they must grow them somewhere else in the winter. Do you remember?"

Danny took one of the berries. It was large and heavy, and when he bit into it that flavor which was so difficult to describe made his eyes roll back in his head.

“Mmm, these are, like, perfectly ripe.”

Sam ate one and waited for his best friend to answer his query.

“Yeah dude, of course. When we went camping all by ourselves and found those canes that the birds hadn’t attacked yet.”

“And scratched _the fuck_ outta our arms.”

“It was worth it, though.”

“These are good, but those were better.”

“This **is** pretty good though, Sammy - I mean, not just _this_ ,” Danny said, spreading his hands to encompass their environs. “But that it’s _us_. I know you don’t want me to jinx it, but -”

Sam put a finger to Danny’s lips, forestalling what he knew the other wanted to say.

_This is the only band I’ll ever join._

“Well your birthday’s over and these guys look like they’re ready to throw us out on our asses, so -”

“I **mean** it, Samuel.”

“I **know** you do, Daniel.”

“Not everybody gets to have what we do. And I’m gonna hold onto it, tight as I can.”

Their eyes locked, there was no need to touch even as they might desire it so intensely.

“Me too,” Sam said; meaning the band, meaning their success, meaning the two of them most of all.


End file.
